Annotated Bibliography of Renaissance Dance - Shadow Island ...

Annotated Bibliography of Renaissance Dance 9Matt Larsen: Caroso's second book is a refinement of the first, to theextent that the cover page subtitles it the "Second Edition of the BookCalled Il Ballarino." This is in spite of the fact that only some twenty of theforty-nine dances presented in it duplicate dances found in the previousvolume. But while it is not a true second edition, there are many additionsand refinements to both the "rules" for the steps and the dancesthemselves. As a result, any reconstruction of one of the dances whichappears in both volumes should rely on the second for the definitiveversion. Even when reconstructing a dance from Il Ballarino which doesnot appear in Nobiltà di Dame, one should examine the step descriptionsin the second volume, since they are in general more clear and precise.Julia Sutton's translation makes this one of the more accessible of thesixteenth century Italian sources, but one should be careful not to rely tooheavily on it in creating reconstructions, as there are always nuances lost,however good the translation may be.Lizbeth Langston: I disagree that "...any reconstruction ... should rely onthe second...." While Nobiltà can be useful for clarifying passages in IlBallarino, the first book must be taken on its own terms, reflecting a dancetradition reaching back towards the middle of the 16th century, asattested by balli d'incerti (dances of uncertain origin) and dances by other,earlier dancing masters. If you are interested in dance of an earlier time,use Il Ballarino. Note that descriptions of certain of Caroso's step unitschange between the books. The seguito spezzato is one example, in whichthe second foot is placed differently: to the instep in Il Ballarino, and to theheel in Nobiltà. In the seguito ordinario, Caroso specifically instructsdancers to finish with the back heel down in Il Ballarino, but allows it torise in Nobiltà. In spite of what Caroso says, I do not consider the earlierdance and step-unit instructions wrong or "badly made," rather, as anhistorian, I assume that each book reflects what Caroso thought wascorrect at the time. If you want the most interesting/complicated danceand exact time period doesn't matter, look at all the variations and pickthe one you like best. Finally, if you are in a situation where historicalaccuracy is not the highest priority, adapt, mix, interpret, orrechoreograph the originals as much as you want!Caroso, MarcoFabritioCaroso, Marco Fabritio. Il ballarino. New York: Broude Brothers, 1967.Reprint of Il ballarino, 1581.Carreras y Candi, FCarreras y Candi, F (editor). Folklore Y Costumbres De Espana. Barcelona:1934.(author unknown). Cervera manuscript.Castelli, PatriziaCastelli, Patrizia, and Mingardi, Maurizio, and Padovan, Maurizio. MesuraEt Arte Del Danzare : Guglielmo Ebreo Da Pesaro E La Danza Nelle CortiItaliane Del XV Secolo. 160 p. : ill. (some col.), facsims., ports. ; 28 cmPesaro: Pucelle, 1987.Lizbeth Langston: Exhibit catalog to accompany 1987 Ebreo conference. InItalian. Four articles, profusely illustrated. Thoughts on dance and musicin the 15th C. with particular reference to visual materials. This volume isparticularly valuable for the well-reproduced illustrations, in color andblack and white, of old standards and others not usually seen.